New Arrivals….& their proud mum!
     

Ophrys apifera – Horticulturalists and walkers and anyone who may be interested, the ‘fairly rare’ Bee Orchid was spotted in several places across the village, unfortunately now gone. 

    

 

Unfortunately, not all the plants we have are welcome, we have two which we need to be vigilant for :-We have an increasing problem with the plant Alexanders (see photo below) which, although edible, is extremely invasive and threatens to overwhelm our other wild flowers. This year we hope to make a significant impact on its growth. If you have any in your garden or on your boundary can you make an effort to destroy it, now before it makes seed.  To help identify it if you’re not familiar with this plant we have put pictures on the notice boards and website. Click here for more info 
And, talking of invasive plants, there is another important and very recent problem with the arrival of significant areas of Hemlock. This appeared in abundance last year along the roadside to Stoke, on the common near the horse chestnut tree and a little on church hill (and in the editor’s garden!!) amongst other places. This as its name suggests is a highly poisonous plant, especially its seeds and remains so even when it is dry. It is potentially dangerous to cattle and perhaps to children who could be tempted to use the hollow stems as peashooters.
Only a little was cut  last year even though we tried to make people aware of it and this year it seems  stronger, both of these plants should be taken seriously. Click here for photos, and Norfolk Wildlife Trust will give advice on clearing this in sensitive areas. 

Shotesham Common – The Trustees of Shotesham Common have been given permission by Natural England and will be continuing to carry out some work on the common over the following months. Just to explain what we are doing and why:
We will be manually cutting back sections of the banks of the beck on an annual basis, where Willow Herb has dominated, to enable birds and mammals to have access to the water.
We will be manually cutting Alder saplings and trees. Over the years these have changed the open landscape and caused drying out of the wetland meadows, which is contrary to the management agreement we have with Natural England.
If you would like any further information, contact either Ed Howard edhoward54@gmail.com or myself floracot@btinternet.com.
Bernie Fenn, for Trustees of Shotesham Common

Wildlife in Shotesham – who knew we had so many different wildlife species on our doorstep?! Village resident, Andy Musgrove is busy collecting and collating them all and, whilst in his own words he hasn’t got them all yet, click here for a few to be getting on with. Careful though, it could make your hair stand on end!!

…And in Joys Loke….

[Show thumbnails]

 Courtesy of Tom Higgin

St Martins Church looking good – also see video at St Martin’s Church sub menu via Churches and the PCC heading above – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMfP1tx642g  (copy and paste link) 

Despite all the apparent awareness, people are still looking to take advantage of any weaknesses. As always, please keep an eye out for any unusual activity, DO NOT give out any private or secure info over the telephone, and remember that if you spot anything suspicious the police can be contacted by phoning 101. 

 SCAM AWARE! – A number of new scams have been notified by Norfolk Association of Local Councils, some of which I certainly haven’t heard of before and are well worth checking out – click on this link for details – https://mailchi.mp/52e6f8561225/scams-dont-get-fooled-again?e=7f9e357c98

Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital’s ‘Settle in Services’ are looking for dedicated volunteers who wish to give something back to their local community. Volunteers meet patients on their day of discharge from hospital to help settle them back in to their own environment. Click here for more information 

Thinking Fuel – If you feel you may be paying too much for your oil, Community Action Norfolk (CAN) have a scheme that may assist. Click here to see how you might save and here to see how it works, or go directly to the CAN website for more details.

Our new local police officer is  PC Tom Goodrum who now holds the position of Poringland Beat Manager, Tom can be contacted at Thomas.goodrum1@norfolk.police.uk 

Selected older news items are retained on the “News archive” page)